Stating the obvious in this blog post. Games Workshop has kept a remarkably tight seal on the new line of miniatures for their Hobbit Strategy Battle Game. The Limited Edition Radagast Miniature aside, it is save to say that the gaming public truly only saw what was coming through the official YouTube teasers and the White Dwarf. Now it is official. The Hobbit Strategy Game is available for pre-order and will be on sale December 1st.

The Hobbit Strategy Battle Game for Pre-Order

As far as I can tell, the lists for this release leaked a few days ago were correct. It is certainly a large release by Games Workshop… roughly the size of Dark Vengeance and the Chaos Space Marines release taken together.

There is the Starter Box, “Escape from Goblin Town”, which is available as a limited edition with an extra Radagast Miniature and, soon, in a regular edition without the Radagast Mini. The LE Box of Escape from Goblin Town will set you back £75.00 straight from GW (though you’ll get it 10% cheaper from discounters such as Wayland Games).

The Hobbit: Escape from Goblin Town – Limited Edition contains 56 Citadel Miniatures including: Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield, the limited edition Radagast the Brown, Oin the Dwarf, Gloin the Dwarf, Nori the Dwarf, Ori the Dwarf, Kili the Dwarf, Fili, the Dwarf, Dwalin the Dwarf, Bombur the Dwarf, Bofur the Dwarf, Bifur the Dwarf, The Goblin King, Grinnah the Goblin, The Goblin Scribe, Goblin Captain, 36 Goblin Warriors, and The Goblin King’s platform. Also included is a 48 Page full colour ‘Your Journey Begins Here’ booklet, 1 Play Sheet, a 112 page full colour rules manual, 8 Dice, and 1 Ruler.

The Other New Miniatures (YouTube Showcase)

The other releases include:

• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Rulebook - £50.00 regular price.
• The three Trolls plastic boxed set - £50.00 regular price.
• A plastic boxed set for 18 Goblins - £20.00 regular price.
• A plastic boxed set for 12 Orc Hunters - £20.00 regular price.
• A plastic boxed set for 6 Orc Hunters on Fell Wargs - £25.00 regular price.
• Goblin Town Terrain/Scenery Set - £35.00 regular price.
• The White Council for 4 finecast miniatures - £45.00 regular price (yup, no typo).
• 4 more finecast miniatures between £12.00 and £25.00 regular price.
• A custom figure case - £40.00 regular price.
• A Hobbit Paint Set - £25.00 regular price.

My take on the Hobbit Battle Game: Not Impressed…

Now that the pictures and products are out there, I am going to say that I will probably give this one a pass.

I am a huge Tolkien fan and I also did enjoy Peter Jackson’s movie trilogy. I will certainly see the Hobbit Movie(s). And I really, really wanted to like Games Workshop’s foray into the material.

The miniatures they are offering are certainly not bad. There is no major fault I can find with this release (or Peter Jackson’s art direction, which Games Workshop obviously had to follow). But it doesn’t “wow” me either. Not enough to justify the price they are asking.

Maybe I’ll change my mind after seeing the movie. Maybe you’ve got some points I’ve missed. But as it stands, I don’t see myself tearing off the shrink-wrap of this game to plunge into a painting/gaming binge.

What are your thoughts? Will you get into The Hobbit Strategy Game? Are you excited for the game? Do you have other plans for the miniatures? Or will you also give it a pass?

I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment!

Z.